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Directed by Sacha Baron Cohen, ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’ is a 2026 mockumentary comedy that follows the British hip-hop enthusiast who became a global phenomenon with projects such as ‘Da Ali G Show’. But now, 20 years later, his way of living on the edge with no plans for the future seems to have taken a noticeable toll. Nearly unemployed and creatively broke, Ali G desperately tries to regain her former glory when she discovers that her girlfriend is eight months pregnant. But all his attempts to find his footing in a rapidly changing social and political environment seemingly end in disaster, attracting all kinds of oddballs. One such person is Col. Erran Morad, a former Mossad expert, although many may not realize that the man in that role was Cohen himself.
Sacha Baron Cohen played the role of Erran Morad using a prosthetic head and fat suit.
Sacha Baron Cohen, who plays Colonel Erran Morad in ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’, uses extensive prosthetics and makeup to look almost unrecognizable. This is important because he plays the main character of the film, Ali G. Ali G is going to be a completely separate narrative entity. There are several scenes where the two characters occupy the same screen space, which is a huge creative effort on the part of Cohen himself during filming. Given Morad’s background as a former Mossad agent, facial modification alone is not convincing enough, and the actor therefore resorts to complete physical transformation to alter his entire frame.
In an interview with Fox News, Cohen confirmed that he was wearing a “prosthetic head with a thick suit” while playing Morad before transitioning to Ali G. He also revealed that the production has been working on these prosthetics for years with the help of a team of professional animatronics. Given Cohen’s long history of using elaborate makeup and prosthetics to transform himself into entirely new characters, whether it’s Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Gio Monaldo and Rick Sherman in ‘Who is America?’ or Donald Trump in ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,’ it makes sense that he would step into the role of Morad so easily. However, actual change appears to be fraught with significant difficulties.
Erran Morad’s character design harks back to previous Sacha Baron Cohen shows.
To make the look of a Mossad agent with a long and violent history convincing, Sacha Baron Cohen and his creative team had to beef up the character design considerably. This can be seen in his broad chin, shaved head, thick eyebrows, and a distinctive scar running through his left eyebrow. Interestingly, ‘Ali G: Who am I?’ This is not our first introduction to Erran Morad. He also appears as a character with largely the same appearance in ‘Who is America?’ In an interview with Variety for the 2019 Actors on Actors series, Cohen described Morad’s prosthetics as involving donning “a whole new head,” describing the application as “layers and layers, layers and layers.” The same goes for the way he is dressed in the ‘Ali G’ movie, with the added touch of aging Morad’s character over the years.
In a previous interview, Cohen revealed that she starts getting ready at 3:30 a.m. and spends about five to six hours doing her makeup before filming. The prosthetic removal process then took another hour and often left the actor sweating as the prosthetics came off. The makeup team for ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’ adopted a similar approach, with Cohen noting that the transformation took about five hours each day during filming. Additionally, he used a body suit to create the illusion of the character being taller and bulkier. For the scene where Morad and Ali G face off, the team would have relied on a variety of techniques, including body double shots and split-screen filming, to achieve this unique combination of practical effects.
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